It is of great importance to maintain an unobstructed air way during the administration of a general anesthetic. The prevention of obstruction to free breathing through the upper air passages is one of the most important details with which the anesthetist has to cope. The most common form of respiratory obstruction, during anesthesia, is the falling back of the tongue into the pharynx, owing to the relaxation of the muscular support.

There are several instruments to overcome this difficulty, known as air ways, breathing and pharyngeal tubes. Those best known are the tubes devised by Hewitt of London and Connell of New York. Both give excellent results, but are open to the great objection of becoming obstructed with mucus.

To overcome this I have devised an instrument which consists essentially of a double row of four bent wires, running parallel, about an eighth of an inch apart, and firmly held